This is a BLOG from Mark Cochrane of Business Strategies Group in Hong Kong. We've been keeping a close watch on B2B media and business information in Asia since 2000 and look forward to sharing insights with you.

David Shaw in his "B or not 2B" business media blog raises an issue which continues to plague trade shows in Asia: the last day clear out. Even as events have gradually decreased in length from 7 to 5 to 4 to 3 days, exhibitors still start to dismantle their stands half way through the last day.

Spent the last few weeks at a couple of trade shows, researching markets, launching a magazine and a show daily, and generally keeping busy.

Many trade shows have to deal with the problem of the 'last day.' The problem: how do you keep the exhibit floor from becoming a ghost town in the final hours as people hit the airport to get home?

Has anyone had success with putting the key conference programming last? My thought: Two days of exhibit floor, with a keynote address and some limited, though important conference content on the first and second days (as well as a major networking party after the second trade show floor day), but with the core conference programming and a stellar closing address for half of a third day.

Sun Business Network continues to shuffle the decks and keep us interested with an announcement, just days after previous deals were cancelled, that it has sold 82.8% of its education subsidiary, Auston International, to a Chinese education group, Wuhan Hong Bo Group.

Abuse of intellectual property - piracy, theft, call it what you will - is a fundamental business challenge for all media companies doing business in China. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council reports on its web site that 30th May say the implementation of new administrative measures to protect IP on the Internet in the mainland.

The new regulations won't stop the pirates. You can be sure of that. It will, though, give copyright owners at least some basis on which to go after the more egregious abusers if they want to. The TDC article does, though, raise somew questions about just how vigorous the authorities will be in applying the new regulations:

The measures clearly spell out the administrative and legal responsibilities of Internet service providers in relation to copyright. Since Internet service providers have difficulty verifying everything provided by the Internet content providers, they should not be made to bear too heavy a legal responsibility for Internet copyright infringements.

As technology magazines have traditionally straddled the B2B/consumer divide, so do their electronic equivalents. As blogging begins to emerge in China, it will be interesting to watch how ventures in this arena become commercialised. Edwyn Chan's blogkumedia site (Chinese language only) is an early player in this area and his consumer electronics blog looks as though it may well fall into areas traditionally occupied by B2B and technology publishers.

We have seen estimates of up to 50 blog hosts behind the 'Great Firewall of China'. They have been credited in some quarters with having fuelled the fires of recent anti-Japanese protests. The political and commercial potential of the Internet will continue to vex the Chinese authorities in this as in other areas.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

The international magazine publishers' association, FIPP, met last week in New York. The organisation reports in its e-newsletter on comments by Yukoh Kawamura, the CEO of Nikkei Business, Japan's most important B2B publisher. He talks of Nikkei's Mag-Net strategy to bolster falling magazine sales and draw business back to the company with a multi-media net, newsletter, magazine and events strategy.

Kawamura also has interesting comments on the relative ease for international companies to enter the Japanese market using new technologies, saying:

In the past, Japan’s publishers have been somewhat ‘protected’ from foreign entry because of the language barrier and also because of Japan’s unique distribution system. This has all changed with the advent of the internet.

Friday, May 27, 2005

AsiaJapan: 3.35 million blogsconfirmed here first through a Japan Today report and now by Steve Rubel 3 days later.

China: 4 millionNY Times 24 May

South Korea: 15 millionnew reports are still difficult to get out of South Korea, so I’m using the same figure as last month. Give how high it is a can’t see a huge amount of growth left in South Korea for blogs.

Other Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Phillipines): approx 1 millionmixed reports and no firm figures so again I’ve stuck with last months figures. What I have managed to stumble on to is some really good blogs coming out of these countries and vibrant blogging communities, but alas no figure.

India/ Pakistan: approx 1 millionno firm figures however I’ve noticed a significant rise out of India recently, and certainly the Indian press is also reporting on the emergence of Indian blogs, which is a sure sign that there must be a reasonable number there.

The following summary is taken from BSG's weekly e-newsletter (for sign-up, you can visit our home page at www.bsgasia.com. A special prize to any reader who can unravel the extraordinary shuffling of cards that has been going on at Sun Business Network (formerly Panpac Media) in Singapore since it was acquired by Bruno Wu.

Singapore, May 26: Sun Business Network (SunBiz, née Panpac Media) has announced its intention to issue shares on NASDAQ and/or other public markets outside Singapore, and potentially privatising its shares on the Stock Exchange of Singapore. SunBiz has appointed Hong Kong-based investment banking firm FB Gemini Capital as its financial advisor to explore these alternatives, to decide the placement format of shares on any foreign exchanges and/or involved in a delisting, as well as placement agent for the transaction.

“Meanwhile, the deal to inject Asia Multi-Media Technology into NASDAQ-listed SE Global Equities is still proceeding. We will make an announcement at the next milestone,” said Bruno Wu, SunBiz’s Executive Chairman. Singapore, May 25: SunBiz has signed a 5-year content distribution agreement with Stockstar.com to distribute its China Business Post online to 7.5 million stockstar.com registered member. Chen Xiaotao, CEO of SunBiz said that the cooperation has the potential to bring in S$15-20 million (US$9-12 million) in annualized revenue. Stockstar.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanghai Meiling Computer Technology Computer Ltd, is one of China’s leading vertical financial portals serving stock traders and business people.

SunBiz also announced that Chauncey Shey has been appointed as Vice Chairman and Executive Director. Shey was co-founder of UTStarcom Inc and StarCom Network System, and was serving as CEO and President of Softbank China Holdings Pte and Softbank China Venture Corp prior to joining SunBiz.

Singapore, May 20: Last Friday, SunBiz announced the termination of the proposed divestment of an interest in its educational subsidiary, Auston International Group Ltd. SBN proposed the sale of Auston’s interest to Ethe One Ltd., Tan Choon Wee and Kim Eng Securities Pte Ltd. on 12 April 2005. Owing to the non-fulfilment of the conditions in connection with the proposed divestment, both parties agreed to terminate the agreement on 20 May 2005.

We wrote a commentary on all this for EPS Insights (subscription required to access this) a few months ago and have been watching more closely than most but still have trouble keeping up.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Your will come across very few web sites more packed with ads than India's exchange4media.com. In one of today's stories, the site reports that foreign investment in Indian media hit Rs150 crores in the first four months of the year. That's 30% more than for the whole of 2004 and, for those of you not so well versed in your lakhs and crores, around $37.5 million. Small change by comparison to some of this year's transactions in the US and Europe, and not much of it focused on B2B media, but an interesting sign of where things are going in this market.

Sun Business Network Sun Business Network Ltd (nee Panpac Media) has hired the CEO of Softbank China, Chauncey Shey at Vice-Chairman and Executive Director. Shey has been closely involved in many of Softbanks b2b investments in China including Alibaba.com. As it completes the conversion of Panpac into SBN and a China play and having just had to issue a lengthy explanation to the Singapore Stock Exchange for variances between its financial statements and public announcements, Sun will need all Shey's experience.

David Shaw in his B or not 2B--A Business Media Blog has picked up an issue engaging the minds of business media in the US these days but which is ever present in Asia in different forms: the willingness of advertisers to protest editorial content by withdrawing their business. Several leading Hong Kong newspapers suffer from long-standing 'no ad' policies by local property developers who object to their editorial stance. This is often as much to do with sensitivities about mainland China politics as it is about unfavourable editorial coverage of the companies themselves although the principal is the same.

A strong editorial in Advertising Age also takes to task those companies and their advertising agencies who are pushing these new policies.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Speaking to Hong Kong's American Chamber of Commerce, China Netcom CEO, Edward Tian, waxed lyrical on the impact Broadband is having on China. 1 million new broadband subscribers are being added every month in the country now, he said, taking the total up above 24 million. He foresees big changes in the way technology is used as critical mass is achieved and forecasts a bright future for IP TV and the convergence of media companies and broadband service providers.

Other distinguished B2B specialists on the panel include Helen Alexander, Chief Executive of The Economist Group, Michael Marchesano President & CEO of VNU Business Media, Harold McGraw III Chairman, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Hugo Shong President/Asia-China, IDG and Claus Wuestenhagen CEO of Vogel Business Medien.

Global Sources regained some of the losses of the past two weeks to record the biggest gain of the week in our B2B Media Index, up 23.2%. Pan Pac Media, now Sun Business Network, continued to sink as the worst performer in the index this week, down 7.7%.

Monday, May 23, 2005

One of the frustrations of following business media in Asia is that somany of the companies are so small. Increasingly, though, we comeacross news about companies in mainland China which have already grownquite large. Financeasia.com prints an interview today with the founders of Beijing United Media Information. Already a $10 million company, Beijing United publishes business information, directories and databases.

Business media in Asia is evolving very quickly. Many interesting things are happening around the region. My company, Business Strategies Group, follows this every day and this BLOG is designed for those of you who want more regular updates on what is happening than our weekly newsletter (sign up on the web site) allows.